Believe in your heart that God raised [Jesus] from the dead, and you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

Ancient Romans were surrounded by a pantheon of gods requiring sacrifice and prayers for life to go well. Separation of church and state was nonexistent: Caesar required worship, too. Religious tolerance was a given as Romans adopted Greek gods and then absorbed deities of their conquered territories. Romans employed “correct prayers, rites, and sacrifices” in their “practical and contractual” religion. Do ut des: “I give that you might give” (See “Religion in Ancient Rome,” Wikipedia.)  Evangelism was unheard of; why recruit others to worship a god you need to bless you? 

The context for the book of Romans is critical here. Paul writes to a new Christian church embedded in this culture, methodically showing how work-based “religion” cannot save. Christianity diametrically counters Roman culture by showing a God who became human and died to save His people. This God wants our hearts, a faith that goes beyond intellectual assent, beyond mandated sacrifices. Enter mercy, not merit. Enter faith, not ritual. Enter evangelism with the message of good news for everyone. All countercultural.

Mercy. “The Lord richly blesses all who call on Him” (vs.11-12). Call on, not sacrifice to. All are welcome, despite ethnic, educational, or economic status.

Faith. “Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and you will be saved” from sin and eternal death (vs.9). God holds Himself to that covenantal arrangement, expecting no work from us, just faith. His is a free gift of eternal life, not an exchange of a good job if I give Him an ox. 

Evangelism. “Jesus is Lord” (vs.9); Caesar is not; little “g” gods are not. Romans’ live-and-let-live inclusivity of all deities cannot now be acceptable. Paul urges the Roman Christians to share their faith, for all are welcomed: “there is no difference between [ethnicities, races, classes] ...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (vs.12-13).

This is a faith that gives life meaning. A God who gave up everything and died for me, even with nothing in my hands to offer, is counter-cultural and for the common good. Faith in this kind of God means I help others, I tell them why I’m helping, and I ask, “would you like to know Him, too?” Surely, that attitude is what Paul was encouraging and what propelled Christianity to explode in the first centuries. 

We’re not confronted with a pantheon of gods we have to urge others away from…. or are we? Have job success, the lure of money, accumulation of possessions, finding the perfect mate, seeking others’ approval replaced Venus, Zeus, and Apollo? What sacrifices are others offering on these altars in expectation of “I give that you might give”? Do you have a friend or relative who is sacrificing at the wrong altar? What could you gently say to open the conversation?